Your Green Life: "Propane Vehicles"

By
KBJR News 1

July 25, 2013Updated Jul 25, 2013 at 7:44 AM CDT

Duluth, MNThe first Alternative Fuel Roadshow came to Duluth on Tuesday at the DECC. It featured trucks, tractors, and even rat rods that all run off propane fuels. Propane is commonly used for grilling, but you probably didn't know that it's a good fuel alternative to diesel.

Jim Olson, Director of Safety Compliance and Asset Management for Como said, "It reduces hydrocarbons; it reduces an awful lot, 25% of greenhouse gases. Its extremely easy on the vehicles, you get a longer life out of the vehicle engine and of course at anywhere from a dollar–50 to 2–dollars a gallon savings its really quite a bargain."

And although this gas is green, it's not a greenhouse gas. Which means it safer for the environment.

"Propane is actually not a greenhouse gas in its delivered state, which is unusual. Its non–toxic, it poses a lot of positives for the environment all the way from the delivered state to the consumption state." said Olson.

You can run straight propane or you can run on a mixture of diesel and propane, which actually improves gas mileage Timothy Herstad, from United Truck Body Company, said it's a great alternative for school buses as well.

"I've been traveling around demonstrating our propane powered school bus as an alternative to diesel powered buses, that has become a clean, reliable, economical fuel source." said Herstad.

Propane doesn't produce as many BTU's as gasoline, but with such a significant price difference and the reduced emissions, it may become a good alternate fuel for vehicles.

Herstad told me, "Fuel economy is about 15–20 percent less than a diesel engine, but right now with 4–dollar a gallon diesel fuel and a dollar–60 a gallon propane the fuel economy more than outweighs the saving in the fuel costs."